"Making tasteless beer is not easy but the big guys have the experience, skill, and technical knowledge to do it." -
Michael Jackson (beer writer - not the gloved wonder)

The flavor of beer is based
on the ingredients. However, the key to brewing is timing the addition of
the ingredients to the brew pot. Typically a brewer boils 1 1/2 to 2
gallons of water for one to one and a half hours.

The first step in brewing
is to steep the grains, like you would a cup of tea. From the time the
water is added to the brew pot until it boils the grains will soak and
release their flavor. Using a muslin bag or cheese cloth is an excellent
way to keep the grains together.

The spent grains are
usually thrown away, but many micro and macro brewers donate their grains
to farms for animal feed.

Steeping the Grains

When the water and grain
remnants (or wort) come to a boil the extracts and some of the hops are
added. It is a good idea to stir the wort as the malts are poured in. This
way they won't scorch the bottom of the pot. You should continue to stir
while the hops are added. They tend to foam up and may spill over the top.
Once the wort comes to a rolling boil you no longer need to stir.

Adding the Malt

Additional hops and other
ingredients are added at certain time intervals while the wort is boiling.
Once finished (about an hour of boil time) you will need to cool the wort
as quickly as possible so it is not contaminated by any wild yeasts or
other organisms that may be in the air. One way to cool the wort is to
fill a sink with cold water and place the brew pot inside. Occasionally
spinning the pot can help the cooling process. You will also need to
change the water in the sink a couple of times to keep it cool. When the
wort cools to under 100 F it is time to add it to the carboy.

Cooling the wort

Before adding the wort to
the carboy pour in two gallons of water and have an air-lock ready for
when you are finished. Pour the wort through a strainer stirring occasionally
to help the wort pass through the spent hops and grain and into the
carboy. It is best to pour some clean water through the strainer before
you discard the hop remnants so you can capture as much flavor as
possible.

Once all the wort is poured
into the carboy, add the yeast and give the carboy a good shake. The
shaking helps activate the yeast and is best done with a clean cloth or
paper towel over the opening. Immediately place an air lock on top of the
carboy and store in a cool dark place for the fermentation to begin.